WHERE ARE THEY NOW?: MARY LOGUE (Former Irish hockey player)

The training side of hockey was one of the things former Irish senior captain Mary Logue loved about the sport. When the time came for her to retire she missed the challenge of training so she felt the transition into coaching was a natural one.

The training side of hockey was one of the things former Irish senior captain Mary Logue loved about the sport. When the time came for her to retire she missed the challenge of training so she felt the transition into coaching was a natural one.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?: MARY LOGUE (Former Irish hockey player)

Independent.ie

The training side of hockey was one of the things former Irish senior captain Mary Logue loved about the sport. When the time came for her to retire she missed the challenge of training so she felt the transition into coaching was a natural one.

As a player, Logue's first club was Muckross. While there she established herself as an exceptional talent before moving on to Hermes. She received her first cap for Ireland in 1989 against Wales, and won her 100th in 1997 against Spain.

"I think playing hockey is a very privileged existence because you are getting to do what you love. And you're playing with people you are working hard with and respecting. I really enjoyed the life of an international hockey player."

When she finished up with Ireland 11 years ago at 33, she had an Irish record of 153 senior caps. She continued to play club hockey until 2007, took a year out and then started coaching UCD. While she was there they won the senior cup for the first time in 59 years and qualified to represent Ireland in Europe.

She stayed with UCD for two years before returning to her own club, Hermes, last September. They won the Leinster League but were beaten finalists in two national competitions, losing to Pegasus on both occasions.

"The people management is the most challenging aspect of coaching. This season in Hermes we have six internationals and the national squad are in centralisation so they don't really train with the club. I'd like to see these players training with their clubs when they are in the country."

In conjunction with coaching at club level she has worked with the Ireland under 18s as both assistant and head coach. She played two matches with the seconds team with her club this year but yearns to play more.

"I would like to play a bit more, but unfortunately because I'm an ex-international player, there is a rule that I can only play in the top five divisions and our thirds team is in division six so I'm not eligible. Our second team's training clashes with our firsts so I can't train with them."

She has just finished a science masters in Trinity College and when she isn't coaching hockey or studying, Logue likes to play golf.